We here at Cooking Channel love a good party. But throwing a memorable event requires more than just gathering some food and drinks. We show you how, with just five main “ingredients” (including recipes, big-impact decorating ideas and easy DIY elements), you can throw a party that feels like it has a cohesive theme — minimal work required.

Dinner parties can be a lot of work, but when you invite guests to get involved with the preparation of the meal, you can significantly reduce your party prep time (and stress). I recently hosted a Dim Sum party and welcomed a few friends into the kitchen to learn how to make Chinese dumplings. The interactive entree was the perfect focal point of a festive dinner full of modern, eye-catching Asian-inspired details. And since guests spent the evening socializing in the kitchen, I didn’t have to miss out on a single moment.

Ever wonder who came up with the idea that “everybody’s Irish” on St. Patrick’s Day? Whoever it was, I think most of America owes them a huge thank you, or at least a shot of Jameson. But why stop there? Isn’t it time we open ourselves up to the traditions and cuisines of other cultures — especially when the cuisine is insanely delicious? Today is Chinese New Year and it’s the perfect opportunity for everyone to “be Chinese” for a day.

Tonight at 8pm ET on Ching’s Chinese New Year, host Ching-He Huang will share her “blueprint” for a fun and fortuitous Chinese New Year celebration, giving you the inside scoop on decorations, firecrackers and a mouthwatering Chinese feast that’s sure to bring you good luck in the year of the snake. Now, if you live in a city like San Francisco or New York, chances are you’re somewhat familiar with the loud and colorful festivities of Chinese New Year. (It’s hard to miss a huge red dragon marching down Main Street.) But why all the flare, you ask? It’s a holiday steeped in tradition and superstition, and it all begins with one fantastic legend. Gather around children; it’s story time:

Today we’re pulling up a chair — i.e., grabbing a seat on the couch in front of the TV — for a virtual pre-Super Bowl party hosted by Food Network (#pullupachair). To spice up this all-American game day with a little international flair, we’re bringing Ching-He Huang’s take on sliders, made with Asian-style sweet and sour pork meatballs. Easy to eat and packed with flavor, these two-bite snacks do the pigskin tradition proud.

The only “rule” for Meatless Monday is that you go meatless that day. Technically, you don’t have to cook; you could feast on meat-free restaurant fare the whole day if you wanted to. But though it’s tempting in a pinch, why would you order take-out when you can make the same food at home, for less money and in less time? Take Chinese food, for example. It’s never done in the 10 minutes promised. And I’m always skeptical of the mysterious broth and sauce that gets ladled into my stir-fry — is it really meatless?

In the time it takes you to pick up the phone and order, and then fetch your meal, you can whip up your own authentic Chinese dinner at home. Ching-He Huang‘s Chow Mein recipe is easy to make (her shows are called Chinese Made Easy and Easy Chinese: San Francisco, after all), it uses ingredients you can find in any grocery store and you have total control over the ingredients so you can be sure it’s meatless. And if you really don’t want to miss out on the take-out experience, pack up your leftovers in a Chinese take-out container and enjoy them for lunch the next day.

Ching’s cookbook is organized and reads like your favorite Chinese takeout menu, stepped up a notch or two. It starts with a few breakfast offerings (Pork, Ginger and Duck Egg Congee) and then dives into soups and appetizers (Pork and Shrimp Fried Wontons). Main dishes are divided into poultry (Kung Po Chicken); beef, pork and lamb (Cantonese-Style Sweet-and-Sour Pork); fish and shellfish (Spicy Sweet Jumbo Shrimp); and then vegetarian dishes. There’s even a section with “Specials,” or special occasion foods for get-togethers, like Chili Bean Braised Beef.

Cooking Channel’s own Ching-He Huang from Chinese Food Made Easy is joining the ranks of star chefs like David Chang, Daniel Boulud, Marcus Samuelsson and Anthony Bourdain to participate in the second-annual LUCKYRICE Festival, an exciting, week-long tribute to the incredible diversity of Asian culinary culture.

The NYC-based roster of festival events is a Who’s Whoin the Asian culinary world today, featuring truly unique events with chefs from Iron Chef Morimoto to Ming Tsai … see the full list here.

If you’ll be in NYC May 6-8, you can enter for an opportunity to win a pair of free tickets to two festival events, and meet Ching yourself!

Here’s how: Leave a comment at the bottom of this blog post with a question you would pose to Ching about Chinese cooking. It could be a request for a specific tip on the best way to cook a dish, or a question about how she would tackle a specific ingredient. Get creative, but stick to questions about cooking that would have a broad appeal.

We’ll choose our favorite and award a grand prize:

A ticket for you and a guest to the Grand Feast on Friday, May 6 at 6-10pm

A ticket for you and a guest to Ching’s Talk + Taste on Sunday, May 8 at 1-4pm

Dumpling making is the perfect project for a Chinese New Year celebration, a Valentine’s Day dinner-for-two or any ho-hum weekend at home. Rolling the wrappers, mixing up fillings and all that folding, crimping and shaping can be the ultimate social activity – it’s surprisingly easy and even misshapen mistakes make good eats.

Stir-frying is cooking small bits of meat and veggies over high heat for a short amount of time and, since it doesn’t require much fat or oil, it’s a good healthy-cooking technique to pick up. Sure, you can stir fry in a regular frying pan or even in a pot, but a wok can turn any ho-hum weeknight dinnertime into a dramatic, choreographed stir-frying event.